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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

History of a Famous Star Wars Scream 470

Posted by CmdrTaco from the at-least-he-doesn't-scream-carrie dept.
An anonymous reader writes "There is a very famous scream in Star Wars (Episode IV) that occurs when one of the stormtroopers falls into the Death Star chasm. No doubt all geeks are familiar with this scream, but may not know that it has been used in dozens of other movies and even has a name - "The Wilhelm". There is a fascinating interview (transcript and audio) from NPRs "On The Media" that discusses the now cult-like following and history of this scream."
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History of a Famous Star Wars Scream More

History of a Famous Star Wars Scream

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  • huh? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by oiarbovnb ( 728906 ) * on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:55PM (#7795812)
    I don't completely get it... So a sound file was used again and again...isn't this common place?

    • Come on, this is pretty cool!!! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Andorion ( 526481 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:00PM (#7795865)
      How many sound effects have names and followings? =)

      How about the sound at the end of Doom II, when the spawn-cubes shoot out??

      ~Berj

    • Re:huh? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by andyrut ( 300890 ) * on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:00PM (#7795866) Homepage Journal
      I don't completely get it... So a sound file was used again and again...isn't this common place?

      Yes, but can you name another one-second sound clip that's used in nearly a hundred movies and TV shows?

      What's interesting is that despite the popularity and cult following of the clip, the origins of it are unclear. They have an original recording of the Wilhelm, but the actor who actually made the clip remains a mystery. He should have set up some kind of royalty agreement, he'd be cashing in on it now. :)

    • Re:huh? (Score:5, Informative)

      by PCM2 ( 4486 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:03PM (#7795895) Homepage
      I don't completely get it... So a sound file was used again and again...isn't this common place?
      Sure, but it is kinda fun when you start to recognize these things. You'll hear more of them if you like to watch B-movies. When people say that, most folks think "movies from the 1950s-60s, but the fun thing is that you'll still hear the same sound effects in some brand-new, edited-on-Final-Cut, direct-to-video release that came out this year.

      My personal favorite is the BBC audio "spooky werewolf" sound effect. You still hear it all over the place. It starts with the sound of a wolf (or old junkyard dog?) howling, then immediately follows that up with a cat giving two aggravated-sounding meows. The actual sound effect (you can get it on old BBC sound effects records; your library may have some) repeats this sound about 3-4 times, and it's always the same: Wolf howl, cat. Wolf howl, cat. It cracks me up when modern movies actually let the tape loop run through more than one sequence, cuz it's one of the goofiest things I've heard.

  • That's the sound of their server dying (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gwala ( 309968 ) <adam@NOspam.gwala.net> on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:56PM (#7795818) Homepage
    That's the sound of their server dying. Linking audio from slashdot? What were they thinking...

  • Very famous indeed. (Score:5, Funny)

    by kjba ( 679108 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:56PM (#7795819)
    In the Netherlands, the Wilhelm is actually even the national hymne.

  • Other Famous Screams: (Score:5, Funny)

    by _KiTA_ ( 241027 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:57PM (#7795825) Homepage
    The SCO scream:

    "What the fuck are they smoking?!"

    The Goatse.cx scream:

    "Aaah! What the hell?!! My ass hurts just LOOKING at that!"

    The Windows BSOD scream:

    "Ah well, time for a cigarette."

  • And to think (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:58PM (#7795841)
    They had to use a fake scream for a guy falling in a chasm? What's next, fake applause during a sitcom?

  • False (Score:5, Funny)

    by dr_dank ( 472072 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:58PM (#7795844) Homepage Journal
    There is a very famous scream in Star Wars (Episode IV) that occurs when one of the stormtroopers falls into the Death Star chasm.

    No way, I heard that scream coming from the audience during Episode I.

  • Can anyopne confirm these? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by brejc8 ( 223089 ) * on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:58PM (#7795845) Homepage Journal
    The first one I am nearly sure about is the swordfighting sound from civilization is the same as the black night scene from monty python and the holy grail.
    I keep hearing the same whoosh sound that is in Doom when you use the rocket launcher in movies and on TV. Is it a standard sound that people keep reusing or do they just sound simmilar.
    • Leprechaun 4 (Leprechaun in Space) (which is a very bad movie, BTW, and I recommend against wasting any of the precious seconds of your life, watching it) uses Doom's door opening and closing sound effect.
    • I've heard a lot of doom and doom II sound effects in commercials, tv shows, and movies. The spawning sound effects, the doom II icon thrower sound effect, imp death, etc. I even have a wav file of a cat meow that gets played when someone says my nick on irc, my friends and I chuckled every time we hear it on tv or in a movie. It sticks out like a sore thumb since we've heard it so many times.

      This isn't too uncommon tho. There's cd's full of sound effects you can buy and use freely in whatever you want
      • doom2 icon thrower [gid0ze.net]

        I just extracted all the doom2 sound effects to that dir. I'm sure you find a lot of common ones. Just don't him me/sue me too hard. :)

        On that note, the original quake test1 pain/death sound effects sounded kinda like the Wilhelm style screams if I remember right, they're there as well, just back a directory.

    • Re:Can anyopne confirm these? (Score:5, Informative)

      by FatalTourist ( 633757 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:26PM (#7796137) Homepage
      There are many standard sound effects libraries (Warner Bros [gefen.com], Lucas Film [soundeffects.com], etc.) that TV/game studios purchase for use, so don't be surprised if you keep hearing the same sounds.

      I heard a camel in some Jackie Chan movie make the same sound that a Doom grunt makes. It freaked me out man.

    • True, sort of (Score:4, Interesting)

      by DreamerFi ( 78710 ) <john@sint[ ].com ['eur' in gap]> on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:37PM (#7796267) Homepage
      If you listen to some of the Peter Jackson interviews on sound effects in TTT, he mentions that people have to to expect that sound (and indeed mentions Monty Python as well) so they more or less have to put it in or people thing it will sound fake...

  • If you dont have speakers, here is a transcript: (Score:5, Funny)

    by Shut the fuck up! ( 572058 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:59PM (#7795849)
    Stormtrooper #9: aaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

  • Wilhalm Skrim (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Allen Varney ( 449382 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @01:59PM (#7795857) Homepage

    Last year when I was writing dialogue for the Star Wars Galaxies online roleplaying game, I named one character "Wilhalm Skrim" in honest tribute to this scream.

  • Re: the scream (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bogie ( 31020 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:01PM (#7795876) Journal
    I dunno that scream doesn't sound too familiar to me, maybe I need to watch Stars Wars again? What I've always been amazed by is how many movies/commercials have used sounds from the game DOOM. I've heard its rocket and dying imp sounds in tons of things.

  • like stock art.. sounds abound... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by joeldg ( 518249 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:02PM (#7795883) Homepage
    it is just like stock art, this is a "stock sound' that can be used...

    Why is this news again?

  • HeLa (Score:3, Funny)

    by frankmu ( 68782 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:02PM (#7795884) Homepage
    it's like the HeLa cell of the movie industry

  • The Worst Scream Associated With Star Wars (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:04PM (#7795904)
    Was Luke's scream that was added to the Empire Strikes Back Special Edition, when he falls down the shaft on Bespin after fighting Vader and losing his arm. First of all, it sounds nothing like Luke. Second of all, it changed the entire meaning of the scene where the scream meant Luke's fall was accidental rather than intentional. A guess Lucas never heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

  • Quick! Call RIAA! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Someone's been sharing MP3s!

  • not so special (Score:3, Informative)

    by potpie ( 706881 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:05PM (#7795921) Journal
    This isn't so very special. There are many screams and other sounds that get reused. Lots of action movies use the same screams you can hear in the N64 game "Goldeneye." There is a creaky door sound that I've heard used in video games ("Riven" is the one I remember best), TV shows, movies, and even commercials.

  • Best screams ever? (Score:2, Informative)

    by key nell ( 55408 )
    Not being a huge Star Wars fan, I have no idea what this story is about. But I'm going to have to guess that whoever did the screaming can hardly compare to the best screamer of our time, the godfather of soul, the legendary James Brown. This is a man who has filled our hearts with joy through his screaming over the years, and I suggest that we honor him over this holiday season. Who can forget the screams he gave us; the subtle "WHOOOO", the energetic "GOOD GOD", and the classic "WHOOO ALRIGHT, YEAH ALRIGH

  • From the list: (Score:4, Funny)

    by KillerHamster ( 645942 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:10PM (#7795974) Homepage
    "Dell Computers - PC Dreams" TV Commercial (May 2003)
    One of the Dell Interns is repeatedly dropped through a trap door in a dream about how Dell computers are tested.

    There's a joke waiting to be told, I just can't think of it.

  • Single? Your options are endless (Score:5, Funny)

    by PCM2 ( 4486 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:10PM (#7795979) Homepage
    Let's start with analyzing the sound effects in Star Wars...

  • What about another famous scream... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Sinter ( 650182 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:15PM (#7796017)
    When I read the title of this article, only one scream came to mind, and I'm sure many of you will remember it. I have heard it used in many places, but the two most notable are these video games:

    Dark Forces: Whenever you knock a Storm Trooper off a ledge to his death.

    Starcraft: Whenever you select the Academy structure.

  • This is true for more than just this scream (Score:5, Insightful)

    by quantax ( 12175 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:16PM (#7796035) Homepage
    I remember hearing this scream in RotK somewhere, during one of the battle sequences involving Minas Tirith. However, the 'stealing' of sounds (that scream sound isnt stealing) is more common than people suspect. Though i can only think of 1 movie off hand that did so (Leprakaun 4: in space, haha), MANY scifi movies have ripped sound effects from video games, most notably Doom2, specifically door effects. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard a Doom II door opening sound used in TV or a movie. However, its more than just Doom II; I've heard video game gun shots, explosions, and so on; never do these recieve any credit. I can only imagine the amount of trouble some of these movies or shows would get into if they were discovered to be using non-royalty-free/non-folly sounds.

    On a side note, I've been to sound studios before where they do mixing for movies and tv, and these guys often have huuuuuuuuge sound archives, both folly and royalty-free, and very often if you are working on a project for someone and they hand you a CD filled with audio effects made for their show/movie, you copy that effects cd for yourself for later use. So if you look out and have good audio memory, you can hear every once in a while a sound thats been used in other shows/movies. This is doubly true for TV where the schedules are tighter as well as money.
    • It's funny to note who actually recognizes the video game sound effects they steal, er, "use."

      The Smashing Pumpkins used Doom's barrel explosion sound on their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness release, on the song "Where Boys Fear To Tread."

      Look in the liner notes and you'll find this:

      "Explosion from DOOM courtesy of id Software, Inc and bobby prince Music"
    • Another reason this happens is that a good sound is a good sound. Even better if it has a history. Getting a good door sound is harder than it... sounds. I'm an editor and trust me, if the best door sound has been done, I'd use it if I couldn't get a good foley. Of course, if I could get something better, or just original, I'd use that.

      The pathetic bit is that a lot of movies lay in used foley samples that are not only common, but just stupid. A little ingenuity or a 10 minute drive with your over the

    • Re:This is true for more than just this scream (Score:4, Insightful)

      by reality-bytes ( 119275 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:37PM (#7796264) Homepage
      Was just thinking that its equally likely that the door effect from Doom came from elsewhere. In fact the more I think about it, the more I believe I may have heard it before-hand.

      Just can't place it.
    • Wilhelm is also an Elf in TTT as he gets knocked off Helm's Deep...

      Woulda been funnier if they'd used Wilhelm for the death of an Oliphaunt/Mumakil...

  • Heard it TWICE (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bravehamster ( 44836 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:19PM (#7796054) Homepage Journal
    I heard this exact scream TWICE during Return of the King. Within 2 minutes of each other no less. Once from an Orc and once from a human during the main battle sequence. Kinda jarred me for a second. Only heard it once from the Two Towers.

  • Door being opened (like used in Drew Carey) Many Doom sounds are reused especially doors. Shot gun being cocked.

    • Speaking of video game sounds being reused...

      I was amazed, while playing Revenant, to occasionally hear not-so-obvious background sounds that were directly from Dungeon Keeper. Pretty hilarious!

      steve
  • I swear- there is second Wilhelm-like scream in Star Wars. Though I can't remember which damn movie, and I don't have a sample of the sound. And isn't the Wilhelm. It's a scream- perhaps when one of the X-wings are blowing up- that I've heard in a lot of other movies, though no where near as much as the classic Wilhelm.

    Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

  • List of Movies That Contain "The Wilhelm" (Score:4, Informative)

    by bief ( 532369 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:29PM (#7796171) Homepage
    Here is a website [hollywoodl...dfound.net] that tries to list all of "The Wilhelm" occurrences in films.

    They claim "A series of short painful screams performed by an actor were recorded in 1951 for the Warner Brother's film "Distant Drums." They were used for a scene where a man is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator. The recording was archived into the studio's sound effects library -- and it was used in many of their films since.

    "Star Wars" Sound Designer Ben Burtt tracked down the scream recording - which he named "Wilhelm" after a character who let out the same scream in the film "Charge at Feather River." Ben has adopted the scream as sort of a personal sound signature, and has included it in many of the films he has worked on. He and a small circle of sound effects people, including myself and Richard Anderson, continue the crusade to keep Wilhelm alive. The Wilhelm Scream continues to be heard in new films every year."

  • Another oft-repeated vocal clip... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zaren ( 204877 ) <fishrocket@gmail.com> on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:30PM (#7796186) Journal
    "Doctor Blair, Doctor Blair... Doctor Hamilton, Doctor J. Hamilton..."

    Listen for it in hospital scenes - I heard it in an episode of Arthur that my daughter was watching the other day when someone was in a hospital, it's in a Queensryche song off of Mindcrime, I've heard it on various soaps that the wife watches...

  • And all the foley artists say at once.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by switcha ( 551514 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:30PM (#7796192)
    "Where the hell is the RIAA when we need them? I got a mortgage, people!"

  • ObSimpsons (Score:5, Funny)

    by jpetts ( 208163 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:32PM (#7796212)
    Homer: How'd you get to be so good?
    June: Oh, just experience I suppose. I started out as Roadrunner. [as Roadrunner] Meep!
    Homer: You mean "meep-meep"?
    June: No, they only paid me to say it once, then they doubled it up on the soundtrack. [to herself] Cheap bastards.
    -- "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"

  • Would it have been this guy? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Jerk City Troll ( 661616 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:34PM (#7796233) Homepage

    This story [yahoo.com] from Yahoo! News reports:

    Man Chops Off Testicle in Dispute with Wife

    NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Kenyan man chopped off one of his testicles in a row with his wife and then walked naked to a police station to report the incident, police said on Monday.

    Police rushed 26-year-old Stephen Ongala to hospital after he stumbled into their police station in the border town of Busia in western Kenya on Friday bleeding heavily.

    "He said he did it because he had had a disagreement with his wife," said deputy police chief Shadrack Maithya. "If we get evidence that he tried to take his life, then we may charge him because it is a criminal offence."

    That'd make me scream like that.

  • I saw a great video compilation of the Wilhelm... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tinrobot ( 314936 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:34PM (#7796234)
    I was at a Christmas party for a sound studio here in LA, and they had a 20-30 minute video filled with clips of people using that screeam.

    It was hilarious and strange - everything from gladiators to aliens, and they were all screaming exactly the same. I really commend the guy who did the research to put it all together.

    Dang, I wish I had a copy of that tape.
  • You keep useful code, sound editors keep useful sounds. If you buy a commercial sound effects library, it'll have 150 (or more) screams on it, and depending on the source and licensing, it may well have one or more Wilhelms on it.

    The point is, these sounds never die. And that's a beautiful thing.

    I produce music and I carry around about 18GB of uncompressed audio with me. Nothing ever leaves that library - only new things go into it. Same thing for any sound editor.

    In 2024 we'll crack open some crufty

  • Xenogears uses the Star Trek computer beep sounds in the intro movie.

    An El Hazard alternative world episode used the sound of a terran transport unload at some point...
  • The Defensive Matrix (and some other sounds) in Starcraft comes from a stock source. I have heard the same distinctive crackling electrical sound effect in such diverse places as the video logo tag for O'Reilly on Fox News, the soundtrack for Spider Man, and various commercials.

  • Used in ROTK, too. (Score:3, Informative)

    by AxB_teeth ( 156656 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @02:43PM (#7796326) Homepage Journal
    When the Nazgul attack Faramir and his troops when they're sent back to Osgiliath, one of the soldiers is picked up by a Nazgul and dropped. He screams the Wilhelm on his trip to the ground.

  • I hate it. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Snodgrass ( 446409 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @03:42PM (#7796876) Homepage
    Personally, find it annoying to hear it so much. I watch the Lord of the Rings and think of all the hard work that was put into it, and then I hear the same canned scream that was in virtually all of the Star Wars movies (and a bijillion others). It just makes me think "cheap". Using the same old sound as everyone else. I don't care if it's paying "homage" to some mythical voice actor or not, it simply reminds the audience that your movie isn't that different from all of the others after all.

    Another glaring example of this is the police dispatcher sound played when you click on a police station in Sim City. Seriously, you hear that everywhere. Worst example: X2 - when the police show up to the kid's house. Listen...it's there.

    Sorry about the rant...for some reason that Wilhelm scream just really gets my goat.

  • Slashdotted, here's an alternate (Score:3, Funny)

    by Penguinshit ( 591885 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @04:23PM (#7797306) Homepage Journal

    Click here [museumsnett.no].

  • Wildcat screams in T-3 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by delfstrom ( 205488 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @04:50PM (#7797637)
    I was watching Terminator 3 on DVD a couple of weeks ago and in two instances I clearly heard the "Wowrraar!" scream of a panther/cougar/wildcat/"Thundercat"(TM):

    1) When the crane flips over and hits the conveniently located truck carrying welding gas tanks..boom..wowrarrr!

    2) Near the end when the Terminator crash-lands a helicopter into a tunnel and slides along the ground. booom...screech..wowrarrr!

    These cat screams jolted me out of the movie. What the heck was a cougar scream doing in there? Is it supposed to make it "cool" or something? The Terminatrix's scream is different, much more mechanical, so I doubt it's supposed to be her.

  • If u want to hear WILHELM in Star Wars IV, V, VI (Score:4, Informative)

    by danidude ( 672839 ) on Tuesday December 23, 2003 @08:48PM (#7799685) Homepage
    Here they are A New Hope: 88m39s of film The Empire Strikes Back: 28m12s and 94m57s The Return of The Jedi: 33m00s

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